Massage Arthritis Pain Away

by: AndreaDow
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Word Count: 318

Tuesday, May 8th

If you have arthritis or know someone who has it, you know that this disease can be very painful. Early stage palliative treatment options are relatively plentiful. However, disease progression modifiers and late stage symptom management are both challenges we have yet to overcome. Thanks to a study that was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, we can now recommend massage as a way to reduce pain and improve function.

Taking a closer look at the study we find that 68 adults with osteoarthritis of the knee received regularly schedule hour-long massages treatments. After 8 weeks of massage therapy, the subjects had improved both their range of motion and flexibility. This is exciting news as it is the first study to report massage therapy helping arthritis sufferers. Several other studies have already demonstrated the effectiveness of massage therapy for low-back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders. These effects were also long lasting. Two months after the last massage, subjects were still much better than their baseline measures of pain and flexibility and “significantly better than the control group”.

Dr. David Katz, senior study author at Yale University, thinks that massage is so helpful because of the sensory input delivered during the massage. This sensory input travels faster than pain input to the spinal cord and brain resulting in less pain perceived. Massage also increases circulation bringing fresh oxygen and cells that help clean out old debris.

Massage is a great adjunct to other arthritis therapies. It is relatively reasonable, poses no side effects in comparison to pharmaceutical options and it feels good! What are you waiting for, get to that massage!

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